


Longing

by shyomegagirl



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Maybe a bit of smut? Like a little bit, just a really soft fic about Dina being in love with Ellie and Ellie not noticing it AT ALL, no one is pregnant and no one dies! okay maybe some people die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25261531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyomegagirl/pseuds/shyomegagirl
Summary: When Dina saw Ellie’s tattoo for the first time, she was mesmerized. The design, the contrast between careful lines and scarred skin, it was all so unique and so Ellie, that she just stared at it, while her friend asked her if she liked it.“Did you draw it yourself?" She smiled as her fingers ghosted over Ellie’s skin. Barely making contact, but itching to do so. The tattoo was beautiful, and when she finally touched it, when Ellie let her touch it, she decided, that there was not a prettier form of art than this.She looked up at Ellie again, at Ellie who was uncomfortably stumbling from one leg to another, chewing on her lower lip in attempt to find the right words.“I- uh, well… Cat drew it.”And this was the moment when Dina decided she hated tattoos with her whole heart.(or glimpse at pre-game life in Jackson from Dina's POV)
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Jesse (The Last of Us), Ellie/Cat
Comments: 10
Kudos: 286





	Longing

When Dina saw Ellie’s tattoo for the first time, she was mesmerized. 

The design, the contrast between careful lines and scarred skin, it was all so unique and so Ellie, that she just stared at it, while her friend asked her if she liked it. 

Of course, she did.

“Did you draw it yourself?” Ellie was an impeccable artist. Dina has seen the glimpses of “doodles”, as Ellie called them, in her diary, and desperately wished Ellie would draw something for her, too. 

She smiled as her fingers ghosted over Ellie’s skin. Barely making contact, but itching to do so. Dina thought of her own scars and of having Ellie cover them up with her art, and somewhere in the back of her head an idea was born to scar her skin so as Ellie would have even more space to draw on. 

The tattoo was beautiful, and when she finally touched it, when Ellie let her touch it, she decided, that there was not a prettier form of art than this. 

Dina never really seen a tattoo in her life so closely. It felt, for some reason, that tattoos were something their society left behind after the end of the world, deciding their bodies could only be covered by ugly scars now. 

Scars that reminded them of those who did not make it to this point. 

She looked up at Ellie again, at Ellie who was uncomfortably stumbling from one leg to another, chewing on her lower lip in attempt to find the right words. 

“I- uh, well… Cat drew it.”

And this was the moment when Dina decided she hated tattoos with her whole heart. 

Life in Jackson was simple, and Dina did not know if it made it boring, or if she was just a really boring person herself.

There were books, there were movies left by the civilization before them, there were thousands of things one could busy themselves with. Yet Dina’s mind could not focus on any form of entertainment anymore. 

She wandered the streets of Jackson, asking if she could be of help to anyone, just to busy her hands with something, just so her fingers would stop itching to touch what was not ever theirs to touch.

Dina knew, at this point, that she was in love.

She knew it before, of course, noticing how weird and awkward she felt around the other girl. Dina knew it, when they hugged for the first time, when she was crying on Ellie’s shoulder, telling her about the way her sister died.

Ellie was not affectionate, if anything, she was the complete opposite of the word affectionate. But she pulled Dina closer, she whispered “it’s okay” in Dina’s ear, and went her heart racing for an entirely inappropriate reason. 

For the next week after that event, Dina would notice what shirts Ellie was wearing, how she would style her hair (similar way, every single day, yet it never stopped amusing Dina), how she would tuck her hands in the pockets of her blue jeans and smile awkwardly at her in her special reassuring way. 

They got close enough for Dina to start calling Ellie her “best friend”, to start telling her more about her family. She wished, desperately, that Ellie would tell her, too, but the girl just brushed it off with words that felt like lies.

It did not hurt Dina, though. She would wait forever for Ellie to tell her everything that the girl wanted to tell. 

She was in love and she was naïve. Naïve in thinking Ellie could ever notice her in that way too.

The simple, unoriginal tattoo on Ellie’s arm proved to her that Ellie would never see her. And never love her.

It hurt, to see her “best friend” together with Cat. They would sit with respectable distance between them, shy to show the origins of their relationship to the people, while everyone knew about it anyway. Ellie would lick her lips while looking at Cat, her hands would hang awkwardly near her thighs.

It hurt to see them. But it hurt more when they were out of Dina’s eye.

What were they doing? 

Was Cat touching her? Was she kissing her? Were they cuddling on a bed while watching Ellie’s favorite movies about dinosaurs and space? 

_“Oh, Cat can draw?”_

_“Yeah, she’s cool” Ellie answered, refusing to meet Dina’s eyes. “So do you like the tattoo?”_

_She did not._

_“It’s beautiful,” Dina said then, and seeing as Ellie smiled dumbly, turned away so as not to see her anymore. “Shit, I forgot I have promised to help with the fence today, I really have to go.”_

It was the last thing she told Ellie, and afterwards they stopped talking for months.

It was weird, not having her friend by her side, and Dina felt so alone that at nights she cried herself to sleep, thinking of her sister who was long gone, of her parents whom she barely remembered. 

Ellie used to make her forget. She and her dumb smile, her idiotic laughter, her freckles that spread all over her face down to her neck and shoulders. Her hair that was always held in a tight but messy ponytail. 

She used to be by Dina’s side, have sleepovers at her place, bring her comics and show up unannounced to ask if she wants to watch a movie.

She was busy making out with her girlfriend now. 

And this jealousy ate Dina alive.

So, when Jesse asked her if she wants to start dating, while looking at her with this hopeful smile that Dina could recognize from afar in herself, Dina agreed.

If Ellie did not love her back, there was no reason to break yet another heart, she thought.

It was only a matter of time until their friends knew they were a thing.

Only a matter of time, until Ellie saw them kiss, even though it was an accident, when Jesse wanted to peck her on a cheek and she turned around, it was still a kiss that counted.

Only a matter of time, until Ellie asked her if they were dating.

“Yes,” she said, looking at Ellie’s face to see some sort of a reaction, and when there was nothing but a soft smile, all remaining hope that Dina had was gone. 

Ellie would never notice her in that way.

“Jesse is a really good guy,” was all that she said, “I am happy for you.”

It was the first time in ages that they talked, just the two of them.

The girl was facing her, and for a moment, Dina thought she should tell her.

She should tell her she does not like Jesse and never will, should tell her she only wants Ellie, tell her she loves her, tell her she needs her.

Ellie sat facing her, yet not really looking at her, yawning without covering her mouth with a hand, her eyes sleepy.

Why was she sleepy?

It had to be Cat, Dina knew. 

It had to be Cat who kept her awake at night, and it would end in a disaster if Dina told her. 

Dina would lose her forever.

It was not worth it.

“So, I heard Tommy let you shoot from the big gun?” 

“It is called a riffle, you dumbass,” Ellie laughed, then, lightly nudging Dina in her shoulder, and even if it was not the kind of touch the girl longed for, it was enough to fill the void inside her chest. She smiled.

“Anyway, yeah, Tommy let me shoot a few runners. He says I got an eye for it, I have not missed even once! And then we went-”

And even though Dina knew it was complete and utter bullshit, she let Ellie brag as they both ate their lunch, undisturbed by other people, as if they were actually alone.

When she glimpsed at Ellie’s tattoo, though, she knew they were never going to be able to exist like that. Just the two of them.

Ellie was taken.

As Jesse approached their table, she remembered that she was taken, too.

Jesse was the type of guy everyone liked, and it made it somewhat easier for Dina to like him too.

He never touched her without her consent, he gave her time to open up to him, and soon, Dina found herself genuinely smiling in his presence. Smiling almost as much as she did around Ellie. 

Jesse introduced her to his mother, and the sweet feeling of her hug did not leave her body until the very week after, reminding her of how it felt to be hugged by her own family.

It was all that a girl like her could ask for, yet she wished for something else entirely.

But Jesse was right there, next to her, warm and innocent. And even when Dina would close her eyes to imagine that it was Ellie on his place, she was thankful he was there. 

It was all that mattered, she told herself, that he wanted to be with her, that he loved her. He loved her. He loved her.

He loved her.

When after one of his patrols with Ellie, Jesse told her that Ellie and Cat broke up, Dina did not know what to think of it and how to react. 

They sat on a couch at Jesse’s place, and his arm hung loosely around Dina’s shoulder.

“Is Ellie okay?”

“Yeah? She seems fine.”

His finger was tracing rectangles on her thigh as he was whistling a melody that was starting to annoy her. Jesse looked completely unaware.

It was not the melody, though, it was not him whistling that made her angry.

It was _him_ , there, on a couch with Dina. 

“Hey, Jess, I have some unfinished stuff I gotta take care of, I’ll see you around, yeah?”

He smiled, got up from the couch to lead her to the door.

Jesse kissed her goodbye, and her lips burned, rejecting the sensation.

It was a few minutes of standing near her house for her to make a final decision.

Legs carried her to Ellie’s footstep.

It did not even feel much like a decision, if Dina was being fair.

She just needed to see her, needed to be there for her.

Dina inhaled fresh evening’s air, smelling of autumn and trees. She knocked on the door a few times, her hand shaking. 

She has never been as nervous. 

Dina knew, at this moment, that it was her only chance, and to stay silent would be to damn every chance of happiness she could ever have with this girl.

She was determined to do it, even if Dina was not sure of what the “it” even meant. Her heart was racing and she could hear it shuttering in her ears, but she stood there, trying to look confident and yet, petrified inside, ready to spill her guts to the girl she has been helplessly in love with for years.

“Hello, Dina.”

Joel greeted her, his huge body barely fitting into small gap between the open door and the house.

“Come on in, it’s freezing outside!”

She went in on autopilot, her plan falling apart, and stumbled clumsily on the doorstep. 

“Careful, kiddo,” the man laughed at her and offered her a hand. 

Once she was inside, she could see the mess of Ellie’s room, posters and comics thrown everywhere in a chaotic and very punk rock manner. 

When Dina spotted Ellie, she was so nervous that she wanted to puke her guts out, but decided to hold it in. 

“Hi, Dina,” the girl greeted her, her hair wet and her clothes fresh, as if she was just out of the shower. Even though she was almost vomiting on her nerves, Dina still could not hide the excitement she felt upon hearing Ellie say her name. “Did you need something?”

She looked around the room again, her mind racing in an attempt to think of any excuse that would save her from embarrassment.

“I -uh- just wanted to see if you were okay after the patrol.”

“Why?” Joel squeezed his eyes as he looked at Ellie, “Did something happen on patrol that you did not tell me about?”

Ellie’s face reddened, as she lowered her eyes to look at her boots instead of Joel’s face, and Dina felt like she messed up greatly, getting Ellie in trouble instead of admitting to her feelings for the girl. 

“I swear, it was not even that bad,”

“Ellie.”

The girl turned around to face the shelves, trying to feign innocence, but failing completely to lie to Joel’s face. She looked guilty, and Dina wondered if she accidentally got her friend in trouble.

“Did you go to the comic shop in the city?”

“No.”

“Ellie.”

“Okay, maybe, but I promise, we took all of the precautions!” she threw her hands up, in defeat, and looked at Dina again. “Thanks” she muttered under her breath, her nose wrinkling slightly. 

“Whom did you patrol with? That boy Jesse?”

“Yeah, but he does not have anything to do with it, it was my idea.”

“I will need to tell Tommy about it so he pairs you up with someone more fitting,” Joel said, as he put on his jacket and looked over Ellie once again, “Someone less adamant to break the rules for a girl.”

He shook his head as he exited, muttering something about boys and hormones, and it took a while for Dina to understand what he actually meant by that.

“Does he think that-”

“Shut up.”

Dina looked at Ellie, her black converse shoes and ripped jeans, flannel shirt with rolled sleeves, and they both enrolled in a series of giggles over the fact that Joel was still clueless.

“He thinks you and Jesse are-”

“Shut up!!”

She could not contain a giggle inside of her and then, when Ellie’s soft after-shower impression transitioned into an angry scold, she started full-on laughing.

“Oh God, he thinks Jesse is into you!”

Ellie was just purely annoyed by this point, but even through this whole façade, she could see a glimpse of her smile.

“Great laugh, Dina, now they are gonna pair me with some old boring fuck!” Ellie nudged her in the shoulder, like she always used to, and Dina shrugged. She knew the girl was not actually angry with her, if anything, she looked playful, and it made her heart swell with warmth.

“Were these comics even worth it?”

Ellie turned away from her, and started folding the comics that were thrown all over her bed into a tight pile. 

“Wedidnotfindany.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Uhhh I hate you!” Ellie turned back to look at her and poked her in the ribs, as Dina continued laughing at the girl.

It turned into a small fight, and later, they found themselves on Ellie’s bed, laying side by side as they talked about patrols and poked each other with a finger when the conversation would die out.

It was so nice, to be so close to her, alone with her, that for a moment, she forgot about everything else. 

It was enough, she thought to herself.

And ‘enough’ was more than a ruined friendship over some Dina’s dumb crush. ‘Enough’ was more than Jesse’s broken heart. Her own heart, that hurt in vain every day thinking about Ellie and how the girl would be hers, did not matter that much.

“Can’t believe they paired me with you, traitor.”

“What, you’d rather patrol with some ‘old boring fuck’?”

“You smell and sound like an old person so there is barely any difference,” she pinched her nose and coughed, faking disgust. “Do you ever shower?”

Dina just laughed, running after her. When she reached Ellie, she jumped on her back, her cheek touching Ellie’s and smudging her face with her sweat as the girl growled. 

“Get away from me! You smell worse than a bloater!”

“And when exactly did you smell a bloater?”

“Right now, duh,” she coughed, making gurgling sounds, “get awaaay!”

For a second, Dina thought she might really smell bad, but it was Ellie, it was just how they talked to each other.

Friendly.

Her confidence though, was also rooted in the fact that she spent almost all of her nice shampoo on her hair the other day, when she found out her and Ellie were going on a patrol together. 

When she chose against practical and ugly underwear in favor of something less practical but nicer looking, she was not proud. But it never sucked to be prepared for anything, she decided.

The patrol went smoothly, them finding pace they were both comfortable with, and walking side by side, wary of their surroundings. 

The sun was burning somewhere up in the sky, surrounded by dark clouds, and Dina looked at it, hoping it would not rain.

The patrol got boring, at some point, when Ellie became distracted by her own thoughts and they stopped talking about nonsense. 

“So, how’s Cat?” Dina finally decided to ask, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them with an even more uncomfortable question. 

“I don’t know, ask her yourself maybe,” Ellie replied, annoyed at the question, while her eyes betrayed the emotions behind the harsh words.

“Huh, you two… ain’t a thing anymore?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the girl was tense, and her hand covered the tattoo on her arm in some poor act of self-defense. 

“That’s okay to talk about it, though, if one day you are gonna feel like you want to-”

“Well, Dina, I don’t want to talk about it, okay? Now let’s just get back to patrol.”

In that moment, Dina’s mood dropped, her stomach twisting in knots. 

“Ellie-”

“Can you just drop it?”

Instead of answering, she caught up with Ellie and put a hand over hers.

“Is that a comic shop right there?” Dina asked, pointing far behind Ellie’s back, making the girl turn and look there too.

“Yeah,” she heard an unenthusiastic rumble of sounds, and so she tugged on Ellie’s hand, intertwining their fingers as she pulled the girl to the comic shop. “Dina, that’s literally the reason why I got in trouble with Joel, I don’t want to listen to his notations again.”

“And you won’t,” she winked at the girl, as Ellie just rolled her eyes.

“Dina.”

“I will keep you safe, c’mon,” Ellie laughed, and gave a small tug on Dina’s hand.

“You are the one needing protection, loser,” she puffed, and they found their way to the comic shop.

No one needed protection, in the end, but Dina’s heart still swelled warmly at the thought of Ellie protecting her. 

When they returned, it was already nearing sunset, and Joel was waiting for them with a stoic expression. Their patrol went on a bit longer than it should’ve, but they decided they could just make up a story about how they got distracted by runners or clickers. 

No one had to know about new comic books inside of Ellie’s backpack.

“How did it go, kiddo?”

She watched as Ellie talked to him, noticing when the girl would start lying and when she was honest. Ellie was so easy to read, Dina thought, and it made it all the more painful. Dina knew that Ellie would never like her back, she could see it in her body language, how the girl would go stiff when she touched her, how she barely returned the eye contact. 

It hurt that she could read her so easily and what she read in her, was the absolute lack of attraction to Dina. 

“Dina,” Jesse greeted her with a kiss on a cheek, appearing from her blind side and startling her. When Ellie turned around, Dina twitched uncomfortably and tried to expand the distance between Jesse and herself.

“Hi,” she said, as her eyes finally met his.

“How was it?” Jesse looked happy to see her, genuinely happy, like Ellie never looked when they were together. How can she break his heart?

“It was okay,” she said. 

It was not okay.

It was the greatest journey she had ever been on.

_To be fair, Dina never really went to a comic shop before in her life. This one was almost untouched by the apocalypse, the door locked tightly, making it hard for the infected to burst inside._

_After a few of Ellie’s attempts to unlock it, Dina pushed her aside with a cocky “Let me handle it”._

_She failed, too, but instead of admitting defeat, the girl wandered around the comic shop until she found a window, and shattered the glass with a brick._

_“What the fuck is wrong with you?”_

_Dina just laughed, and then glanced around to see if they woke any runners up. Gladly, this region of the city was almost cleared up by the other groups that were on patrol._

_“You’re welcome,” she winked at Ellie, but the girl was already jumping inside, so she could not see it._

_Dina followed her into the comic shop, and it was nothing like she expected to see there. Nothing worth of gasping and admiring there, nothing worth risking their lives to be there._

_“Fuck yes!” Ellie exclaimed, fishing some papers into her bag, and Dina let her enjoy herself for a while. Admiring her from afar, while also scanning their surroundings to see if anyone else was around._

_There were posters on the walls, she noticed, similar to Ellie’s, but ripped and less colorful. Dina wondered where Ellie found the good posters. They must be so rare._

_“Not even clickers find this place entertaining,” she joked, her finger running over the shelves to wipe the dust off them. “Only nerds like you.”_

_“Oh, shut up.”_

_“Just stating facts.”_

_“You have a bad taste, that’s the only fact,” Ellie had her arms crossed, defensively, taking a step in Dina’s direction._

_“Oh, and you know how I taste, huh?”_

_She did not expect this to come out of her mouth, and the realization of what she said hit her like a tidal wave._

_Dina still stood in front of her friend (crush) as confidently as ever, looking at how Ellie coughed in surprise._

_“Well, judging by your smell…” she started replying, lamely and almost shyly, and Dina just raised her brow at the girl, “…you taste like a bloater.”_

_With that, the moment was over, and they both avoided each other’s gazes for a while.  
_

“Jesse, you slacker, your girlfriend needs some rest,” Ellie’s head suddenly propped up out of nowhere, and she grabbed Dina by her elbow and tugged her to her side. “Also, how do you not notice,” Ellie went to smell her neck, and it sent chills down Dina’s spine, “how she stinks.”

“Ellie! It is not even funny anymore!”

“It never was,” Jesse and Ellie exchanged a knowing look. It almost hurt how good of a friend these two were to each other, Dina thought. From another view, though, it was really sweet.

“I will see you later?” Jesse asked her. His eyes glimmered with hope, and she could only nod, feeling unusually hot from Ellie’s touch. 

She could not understand why the girl did not let her elbow go, but at the same time, it was not like every touch between friends had to have some deeper romantic meaning.

It was just Dina who was being delusional.

The sun was setting, though, and the road in front of them was narrow and lit by the light from houses nearby.

Ellie was beautiful. Beautiful in a way that no one was, beautiful in a way that made Dina’s pulse raise and her stomach feel uncomfortable. 

Dina was staring at her, she noticed, and it frightened her when Ellie met her eyes. 

“Uff, you smell so bad, go wash your stinky ass,” Ellie pushed her to the side of Dina’s house, breaking the beautiful moment between them with a snarky comment.

“You should seriously consider finding a new joke.”

“You should seriously consider taking a bath,” she pretended to vomit and then laughed at her own sense of humor, as she quickly hid from Dina’s eyes behind the corner. 

Her laughter, though, could still be heard, even when she could not be seen anymore, ringing in Dina’s ears like the prettiest melody. 

“Do you think I should break up with Jesse?” 

“What?”

They have been on patrol again, in a fancy music shop now, with Ellie whistling in relief when they found an untouched pack of guitar strings.

“Should I break up with Jesse?”

The girl was confused, and shrugged. 

“That’s up to you?”

“Right.”

Ellie looked around, picking some other stuff for her guitar and blowing dust off it. 

“Imagine how much all of this shit used to cost before, and now we can just take it,” Ellie picked up a price tag that fell to the floor and showed it to Dina. 

“Well, we had to kill a few clickers on our way to this shop, so I would say buying it sounds a lot easier.”

“Eh, killing clickers is fun at least.”

Dina was disappointed in herself, when she allowed Ellie to do whatever the girl wanted, especially when what she wanted ended up being dangerous enough to get them both killed. But at the same time, she loved seeing Ellie loot in music or comic shops, and a bit of rule-bending never hurt no one.

They went back to their route afterwards, and Ellie bragged about killing a squad of stalkers all by herself, as Dina rolled her eyes. “No, you did not,” – “What do you know! You were not there, duh!”

It was fun, roaming around the inhibited world, just the two of them, even though this world had danger hiding behind every corner. When she was with Ellie, she felt safe, for some reason. Protected even. 

Ellie had blood all over her gray sweater, and some more on her cheek. They had been careless, Dina knew that, getting in a heated discussion about a movie they watched a few nights ago and waking up a few clickers. 

When one of these got close to Ellie, Dina’s heart nearly stopped.

When Ellie got rid of the clicker in a span of mere seconds, her body got warm for an entirely different reason.

“Will you come to the bonfire today?” Ellie asked her, as they were heading back to Jackson. 

“I don’t know, should I?”

Ellie rolled her eyes and smacked her on the foot.

“Hey! Rude!” – “You are the rude one!”

The banter lasted a few seconds too long, and became a full-on physical fight as they got more playful.

It ended up with Ellie on top of her, Dina allowing her to win. 

“You should come,” Ellie said. “I am going to play the guitar today.”

There was really no way Dina could say no to her.

“I will be there,” she answered, swallowing hard as Ellie got up from where she sat on Dina’s stomach and offered her a hand. 

The girl did not say anything else about it, but Dina could catch a glimpse of her smile.

The bonfire night was a big thing in Jackson.

Everyone dressed up nicely, they all gathered together around the bonfire and talked.

It was usually Joel who would play on the guitar, everyone looking at him with admiration. Today, though, Dina knew she would not be looking at him.

When they got home from the patrol, she ran to the shower as quickly as possible, hitting herself with a splash of cold water from the bucket, all the while thinking about which of her clothes were fresh enough to wear. 

The bonfire night was a special day, but Dina absolutely forgot about it, getting lost in green eyes and soft freckles instead.

There were not a lot of clothes she owned, to be fair, and most of it was ripped in places, worn out or damaged in a fight. Dina did not care much about it, but today, when Ellie asked her to come to the bonfire, she could not stop her heart from worrying.

Cat wore nice clothes.

She supposed, Ellie never told Cat that she smelled bad, either.

When she heard a knock on the door, while still wearing only her underwear, her heart twitched and she ran to put jeans on.

“Dina?” It was Jesse. For whatever reason, she was relieved to hear it was him and not Ellie who came by. Dina opened the door for him, putting on a sweater and tucking it into her jeans.

“Hi.”

“Hey,” he replied, rather coldly, and stared at her with a tensed smile on his face. “Are we okay?”

Jesse looked vulnerable, she noticed. His eyes were puffy, as if he had not been sleeping well. He had not shaved in a while too.

“What do you mean?”

He sighed, sitting down on her bed, and hugging himself. She knew what he meant.

“We don’t talk, don’t hang out anymore. I just wonder what it all means, that’s all.”

Dina licked her lips as she thought of an answer.

“Be honest with me, please,” Jesse begged her, his voice almost breaking, “do you still love me?”

It was a hard question. She knew that he would not like the honest answer, yet Dina also did not want to lie to his face anymore.

They used to be good at it. Communication. Dina would always tell him what she liked, how she liked it, and Jesse would always do the same for her. It worked. 

With Ellie in the picture, though, it was different.

She did not answer.

When he nodded and got up from the bed to leave the house, Dina did not even glance at him. Did not even acknowledge he left. 

It was hard and painful, she realized. 

What did it mean for them? Were they over now? Would it be okay if she kissed Ellie tonight, then?

Dina hated the fact that she thought of it like that. Hated the fact that her body felt hot when she thought of kissing Ellie, hated the fact that the only thing that hurt her right now was that Jesse was in pain.

Dina cared for him; she really did.

But she did not love him like that.

The sweater she put on herself in a hurry was not that bad, Dina decided, as she glanced in a mirror. She stared at herself for a moment, thinking of poor Jesse, who would probably avoid her at the bonfire, his sweet mother that was always so nice to Dina, who would keep him company.

Dina had company of her own, too.

In November, days were genuinely shorter than ever, but that day it felt like the night could not come faster. 

She sat, impatiently, at her house, until she heard the noises of the first people gathering around the bonfire.

Dina was brave, as her sister always told her, brave enough when it came to sitting in the darkness alone, while her sister went out and cleaned the area from any of their enemies. Brave enough to be on her own for months, looting around the dangerous zones after her sister died. Brave.

Dina did not feel very brave when her hand shakenly opened the door, as she went outside and to the bonfire, noticing how cold it got in the evening.

Dina did not feel very brave as she bit her lip, looking at the direction of Ellie’s house and wondering if she should come pick the girl up.

She decided against it, walking straight to the bonfire instead. 

She would be brave, but a bit later.

The crowd was getting thick with the amount of people gathered around, some of them bringing alcohol that they found in the city that did not go into making medication or other more important needs.

Dina felt like drinking, too.

She had to charm her way into getting a glass of whiskey, and when she finally had it, she drowned the liquid so fast that she could barely taste it.

It burned in her throat, but not as much as her skin was burning in anticipation.

“Hey there, junkie,” Ellie’s eyebrows were raised as the girl looked at her, “I see you are already having fun?”

“You are just jealous I have not shared any whiskey with you.”

Ellie smiled at that, and nodded. 

“Next time we break the rules, we go looking for some booze,” the girl whispered in Dina’s ear. She hated when Ellie did it. She hated feeling her warm breath over her skin, so close to her sensitive neck that it was almost ticklish. 

When Ellie went back to keeping her respectable distance, Dina missed the contact instantly. 

“Jess and I broke up,” flew out of her mouth on autopilot, right as Ellie was about to say something. The girl’s eyes did not betray a single emotion, and Dina felt her heart sank. 

“Whatever happened between you two, I’m sure it won’t take long until you are back together,” Ellie tried to reassure her, and Dina nodded, realizing only afterwards that it was so stupid to nod at that.

“Ellie! Come on here, kiddo, show these losers what your old man taught you,” Joel’s voice rang through the crowd. 

“Hey, c’mon,” Ellie took her hand and they moved to the bonfire. It was cold outside, and the contact of skin on skin contrasted with the bitter coldness of the night.

They sat down near Joel, and he passed Ellie the guitar.

“What song should I play?” she asked the crowd, and everyone started yelling different song names around. Ellie was barely listening to them, though, looking directly at Dina and waiting for her to answer.

“I don’t think I know any good songs.”

“Everyone already knows your taste sucks, no need to be shy now,” Ellie attempted to joke, as the crowd only got louder with their recommendations. 

It was making her nauseous, to have everyone look at her, at them, expecting her to answer. Then they would surely judge her for her answer, whatever that answer was.

She stared at Ellie, gasping and desperately trying to remember even just one song, any song. Her mind went blank, though.

“Remember that -uh- that song we used to listen to? Uh, it is about morning and sun. It was on one of Joel’s CDs.”

_“What is this music?” Dina laughed, as Ellie made an annoyed face._

_“That’s a classic,” she corrected._

_“A classic that sounds really bad.”_

_“Just shut up and listen to it, okay?”_

_They were sitting at Joel’s kitchen, him being on one of his patrols and them just roaming around his place for no reason at all._

_The song was a typical 80s jam, something that Joel would totally listen to. The disk they found looked like it has been used a lot, and Ellie singing along was a big clue that the girl also liked this one album._

_Dina watched her, silently, and at some point actually started liking this song, too._

“True faith?” Joel nodded, “great song.”

“Yeah, good choice, cos I know how to play it,” Ellie laughed, and then her expression switched into a less smiley one, as she started picking at the strings. 

It was mesmerizing, to watch Ellie play.

Her long fingers moved so effortlessly, as if playing the guitar was as easy for her as breathing. If Dina could take her eyes off Ellie, she would’ve seen just how everyone went quiet, listening to her play.

She could not, though.

Truly, no one could.

“I feel so extraordinary, something got a hold of me-” she started singing, and Dina looked up at her face.

Ellie was beautiful. 

First thing Dina noticed in her then, was how her lips moved. 

Second thing she noticed were her cheeks, bitten by the cold, flushing red under everyone’s attention.

It was then, when Dina’s gaze moved up to finally see Ellie’s eyes, that she noticed the girl looking back at her.

She did not really think of anything afterwards, her thoughts erased as she got lost in the song.

Ellie looked as if she was singing for her. Dina wanted to slap herself on the face for thinking the girl could actually do it. No, she was just sitting nearby and it made sense that Ellie would be looking her way.

“-that my life would depend on the morning sun.”

The girl would look down on the strings sometimes, and Dina would miss the eye contact instantly. 

When she finished playing, the crowd cheerfully applauded. Ellie just smiled.

“How bad did I sound?” she asked coyly, knowing fairly well she did amazing.

“So bad that I wish I cut my ears off,” Dina smiled back, although her heart was racing. She was so lost in Ellie’s eyes. So lost in her 

“Well, I have a knife stuffed in my left boot just for that.”

“On the second thought, maybe I’d rather cut your tongue out.”

“Oh, you would not wanna miss what I can do with my tongue.”

Ellie’s stare was intense, and Dina looked back at her with matching energy. 

“Okay, pass your old man the guitar, kiddo,” Joel took the guitar out of Ellie’s hands, and quickly, new song rang in their ears. 

Joel had a lovely voice, everyone in Jackson knew it and absolutely adored him.

As Dina’s eyes scanned through the crowd and saw two or three women move just a little too obviously seductive, she decided that some citizens of Jackson really fancied the guy.

“So, where did you find that whiskey, huh?” Ellie whispered into her ear. 

Suddenly, she was able to realize just how close they were sitting. So close that Dina’s mind went blank and she did not even register that the girl was speaking to her. 

When she did, though, Dina turned her head around and almost bumped into Ellie’s nose.

The girl was really close.

“Greg lent me some,” Dina watched as Ellie nodded, licking her lower lip as gears in her head started running.

“Greg from the stalls?”

“Greg from the stalls.”

“Do you think he still has some?” she smiled, mischievously, as Dina just shrugged. Ellie stood up, silently, and gave Dina a hand, helping her get up too. “Let’s go find out.” 

They walked, and Ellie’s hand was holding hers until the girl realized what she was doing and let Dina’s hand drop. 

It took them quite some time to find Greg, and when they did, he was already beyond sober to talk. 

Ellie was not pleased with the results, but apart from a small “shit” that fell from her lips, the girl did not say much. 

“Do you think Joel has some…?” Dina did not even know why it was so important that they get drunk, but at the same time, she really wanted an escape from the loud crowd and some time alone with Ellie.

“You know, maybe he does.”

The walk to Joel’s house was a quick one, but they were met with a whole new challenge. The door was locked. 

Dina’s first instinct was to slam the glass of his house with brick, but Ellie said it was impolite. “No slamming windows at Joel’s.”

They walked around his porch, trying to think of how to open the door. 

It took them less than twenty minutes to give up. 

“It’s so unfair that you got to drink and I did not!”

“Well, life is very unfair, Ellie,” Dina laughed at her, as they sat on Ellie’s couch. “Now, tell me, do you regret collecting this pile of dust and not the alcohol?” 

“Excuse you! This is a very rare collection of comics!”

Their banter went on for a few minutes longer, and Ellie ended up sitting on the same couch as Dina, showing her the “amazing” comics that the other girl could not bring herself to care about.

They could still hear the sounds of the crowd around the bonfire. 

It was not safe, in Dina’s opinion, to have such holidays, to relax, to let go of all worries. But at the same time, staying alert all the time was just as bad.

She wanted to talk to Ellie, talk about her feelings towards the girl, talk about how it was always her that she liked.

Dina just wanted to tell her, so that she can finally breath freely again. So that she can calm down. So that this information would be out of where she kept it locked down.

But she did not dare interrupt. 

Dina just listened to the soft voice that was explaining the differences between something she absolutely did not care about and something else that she did not care about either.

Her eyelids got heavy sometime in the middle of Ellie’s monologue, and she put her head on the other girl’s shoulder, covering her mouth with a hand as she yawned.

If Ellie noticed the sudden proximity, she either did not care or was too polite to tell Dina to move away. She continued talking, and Dina listened to the beautiful voice that lulled her to sleep. 

When she woke up, it was already so dark that Dina could not see a thing. But she felt a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and it gave her a bit of comfort, even though Ellie was nowhere near her anymore.

“El?”

She heard a bit of a rumble in the distance, and when her eyes became used to the darkness, she could finally see a bit of her surroundings.

Dina was currently on a couch, that, actually, was not as comfortable as she expected, while the other girl was presumably on her own bed.

She did not know if she should wake Ellie up and tell her she was going to go back to her own house. She did not know if she wanted to go home at all.

Dina laid there, on a couch, just listening to Ellie’s soft breaths. 

After fifteen or so minutes of shuffling, she decided a little “walk of shame” in the night and a good night of sleep in her own comfy bed was better than trying to fit on the small couch. 

Trying to get up as quietly as possible, she noticed, that Ellie had to share her own blanket with Dina, and was currently hugging some oversized jacket in an attempt to get some warmth.

Dina brought the blanket back to the girl, careful not to wake her, and then made her way to the door.

When she walked outside, she instantly regretted this decision, as the cold wind blew in her direction. There was no going back, though, and she quickly stumbled to her own place.

“Hey, Dina,” Joel was watching her through one of his windows. 

“Uh, hi,” was all that she said.

He smiled, knowingly, and watched as she walked past his house towards the street.

It was not hard, to talk to Jesse again, even though Dina feared it would be really painful.

He looked like he knew what was going on in her head, and she could not be gladder to have a friend like him than at that moment.

Jesse would visit her, when his mum made cookies that he knew Dina liked, and they quickly grew closer than they ever were before. 

“So, you guys dating again?”

It was unexpected when Ellie brought it up on one of their patrols, as they were riding their horses through the old city. 

“Who?”

“You and Jesse.”

When she turned around to look at Ellie, the girl was facing away from her, suddenly interested in their surroundings. 

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“You think I’m lying?”

Ellie shook her head. “People are just talking.”

“Did not know I was a celebrity.”

“Well, we don’t have many pretty girls in Jackson,” Ellie laughed, as she sent her horse running, “the last to get to the tall building is a loser!” 

“I am not playing games with you!”

“Loser!”

Winter was quite uneventful, compared to other seasons. 

Their patrols were lessened to just a few a month, for safety measures.

The blizzards would come and go, and the rumors started going around Jackson about “crowds of infected” that were eating everything alive on their way.

So far, Dina had not really seen any crowds. 

Neither did Ellie.

They were paired with older people now, again, for safety measures, and it made patrols exhaustingly long and boring.

She went on a different route than before, this one taking way more time and energy. By the time she got back to Jackson, she could barely stand, her legs tired after hours of riding the horse.

Ellie would invite her to her place sometimes, and they would drink a cup of tea or two, discussing the rumors and talking shit about their patrol partners. 

If her heart still beat way too fast around the girl than appropriate, it was easy to not pay attention to it.

Especially, when Jesse was around, bringing snacks his mum made and discussing comics with Ellie, while she just listened to them talk, drifting off to sleep from time to time.

“So, the winter dance?”

Eugene, her assigned partner on patrols, asked her as she was putting the information of their route to the journal.

“What about it?”

“Whom are you going with?”

Dina did not know.

The winter dance was a fancy occasion in Jackson, and going there with someone meant making their relationship official.

She really wanted to go with Ellie, but she knew the girl would never like her back that way.

“I will go alone,” Dina said, instead. 

Eugene was quiet for a while, looking thoughtful and old.

He was not really that old, though.

“You should go with Joel’s girl, she has a thing for you,” was all that he said, winking at her and making his way downstairs before Dina could answer.

A week later, Eugene passed away after having a stroke.

That was when Dina decided to honor his memory by actually listening to his last words. 

When she found Ellie, the girl was peacefully listening to music in her headphones and drawing.

For a moment, Dina thought about how awfully irresponsible Ellie was, not paying attention to her surroundings, having her door unlocked.

Jackson was a safe space, but bad things could happen anywhere.

She coughed, lightly, and Ellie did not hear it.

She shuffled from one foot to another, and Ellie still did not hear it.

“Ellie?”

Nothing.

It was when she put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder that the girl reacted, so fast, that in a few seconds Dina was already overthrown to the floor with the girl ready to punch her to death.

“Wow, easy-easy.”

Ellie’s eyes were wide opened, and she looked so frightened that Dina instantly felt guilty.

“Fuck, Dina?! Don’t you know how to knock?!”

“Oh, I knocked, maybe you just should not listen to music in headphones, huh?”

It was an interesting feeling, laying on the cold floor of Ellie’s house, as the girl sat on top of her.

“Shit,” was all that the girl said, before she helped her stand up. “Knock louder next time, will you?”

Ellie’s hair was messy, tied in a ponytail, with a few strands of hair stubbornly falling over the girl’s green eyes.

She was wearing one of her sweaters, the gray one with a few holes here and there.

As Dina’s gaze moved lower, Ellie became more uncomfortable and rushed to fixing her stuff on the desk. Dina could swear she saw a flash of her name in Ellie’s journal, but Ellie threw it away too fast for her to read anything more.

“What do you want?”

“Wow, that’s very rude of you, El,” Dina smiled at her, as the girl fell back into her chair and sighed.

“You burst into my house and I am the rude one?”

They looked at each other for a few seconds more, as Dina willed herself to talk.

“Well,” she moved closer to Ellie, putting her hand on the girl’s tattoo in a weak attempt to hide the reminder of Cat in the room. “I was thinking,” her finger grazed over the scar on Ellie’s arm, the one that the tattoo was hiding, “maybe we could go to the winter dance together?”

She really tried to make Ellie understand her intentions. 

The other girl seemed clueless, though.

“You are not back together with Jesse still?”

Dina could not, for the love of God, understand why it was so important to Ellie what was happening between her and Jesse. 

“No,” she said, looking straight into Ellie’s eyes.

The other girl seemed uncertain, for a second.

“Okay.”

“Well, good, see you there,” with a final tug to Ellie’s hand, Dina smiled at her once again and walked out with her chin raised proudly.

Soon, though, her stomach started twirling in anticipation of the event that was supposed to be held next week.

A week felt like nothing, but also, it felt like an eternity. 

Dina felt like it was not a good thing to do, but she sipped on the alcohol that she stole from Eugene’s bar to calm her nerves before the dance.

She wanted to share it with Ellie, but there would be two drinks per person available at the dance, anyway, and she needed some extra bravery to not chicken out from finally admitting to her feelings.

As she went to the church where the event was held, her nerves almost made her throw up in the pile of snow. 

Dina kept it to herself, though, and stopped a few times to greet some of her friends and chit chat.

The first thing that Dina noticed, was that the church was crowded with people. The second thing, though, was that Ellie was nowhere to be seen.

She knew they never agreed on what time they were going to meet each other, but it still hurt her to not see her date.

That’s how she found herself dancing with guys of all ages, forgetting herself as she moved.

It was when she spotted a figure in a flannel shirt that her heart started racing once again.

She did not go to her immediately, though.

Dina was smarter than being this desperate, so she put on a show, remembering all the moves that Talia has once taught her, and spinning in the hands of a guy she could not remember the name of. Bob? Ben?

They spun around in the middle of the circle, and she knew Ellie was watching her.

She could feel it on her skin.

When the song came close to an end, she nodded at the guy and made her way to Ellie. Her legs were wobbling, due to both exhaustion from dancing and nerves.

Ellie looked as pretty as she ever had. She was holding a glass, chugging on it lightly, and Dina took it from her hands, drinking all of the liquid at once.

“Hey,” was all that Dina said before taking Ellie’s hand and leading her to the dance floor.

“Dina,” she heard Jesse’s voice and acknowledged his presence with a quick “Jesse”.

She could not stop now, though.

Dina needed to tell Ellie she liked her. 

“I have a serious question for you,” she started, her nerves acting out and making her change her mind on what she was about to say mid-sentence, “how bad do I smell?”

It was almost their inside joke by now.

Ellie smiled, and then moved closer. “Like a hot pile of garbage.”

Dina acted out before thinking, moving so close to Ellie that their chests collided, and smudging her sweat onto the girl’s face.

“Gross!”

They danced a bit afterwards. 

It was the first time they ever danced like this, and Dina could only think about how the light fell on Ellie’s face in such a perfect manner that her eyes looked as if they were glowing. How her pale shade of pink lips, bitten by cold, looked alarmingly luring. How her moves were the worst of the worst, but still brought warmth to Dina’s chest. 

“Every guy in this room is staring at you,” Ellie said, bringing Dina back to the winter dance. 

She turned around, to look at the people. There were a few old men, watching them, Jesse, with his piercing knowing glare, some other boys who were almost their age, but a bit older.

“What if they are staring at you?”

Ellie brushed it off, rolling her eyes slightly.

“I’m just a girl, not a threat.”

Ellie looked uncomfortable, shy even. She was ducking her head slightly, her eyes lowered down. How could she not understand?

“Oh, Ellie,” Dina’s hand cupped the girl’s cheek on autopilot, without her even noticing she did it. It might have also been the influence of alcohol, but Dina did not care. “I think they should be terrified of you.”

When the girl was ready to reply with some snarky comment, Dina moved in closer.

And closer.

And closer.

Until their lips finally touched.

First thing Dina could feel when they kissed, was that Ellie tasted like whiskey. 

She knew she should taste like whiskey, too.

Second thing she noticed, was that Ellie replied to her kiss with a bit of reluctance at first, that later grew into a passionate answer.

When Ellie opened her mouth, just slightly, Dina took it as an invite and slipped her tongue through their lips.

If the music was not so loud, she would be almost sure that the sound she heard from Ellie was a moan.

The music was blustering through the speakers, though, or at least it felt like it was.

She felt hot all over, and the lack of air in her lungs made her pull away from the girl.

The third thing she noticed, was that Ellie was smiling.

It was all Dina needed to see. All Dina wanted to see.

“Have you already had your two drinks?” she asked, her voice almost shaking, her lips burning after a kiss. She really needed a drink right now.

“Yes,” Ellie’s pupils were dilated, the green in her eyes barely visible anymore.

They were still holding each other, with Ellie’s hands on her hips, and Dina’s hands on Ellie’s shoulders. 

They were as connected, physically, as they almost never were, but it still was not enough. 

“I have found some booze at Eugene’s,” was all that she had to say to lead Ellie out of the church. 

It was cold out, and they had to tug on their winter jackets before almost running off to Dina’s. 

Jesse yelled after them, about Ellie’s being on patrol duty the next day with Joel and having a good night of sleep, but they both seemed to be a bit out of it. 

When Dina shakenly opened the door to her house, and Ellie stumbled on the porch, the reality seemed to be catching up with them.

She kissed Ellie.

In front of everyone.

On the winter dance.

The other girl seemed just as shaken. 

Dina searched for the bottle of alcohol she had tucked underneath her bed, and Ellie stood nearby, with her hands tucked into the pockets of her jeans.

“Here!”

It was good whiskey. Eugene’s best.

“Should I get us glasses?” Dina asked, making Ellie laugh.

“Well, after today’s… I think we can drink from the bottle.”

They sat on Dina’s bed. 

Ellie was the first to drink, taking a slow sip. 

She then passed the bottle to Dina.

“So what was that about?”

“Our kiss?”

Ellie blushed, fiercely. She nodded.

“I don’t remember.”

“Oh, you don’t?”

“Yeah,” Dina licked her lips, “you will have to remind me.”

Ellie laughed. 

It took her one glance at Dina’s lips to get serious again.

She covered Dina’s face with both of her palms, and a shudder ran down her spine, echoing deeper in her stomach.

Ellie pulled her closer.

When their lips met again, it was a different kind of sensation. One that Dina never felt before.

Blood rushed inside of her veins, boiling. 

She felt so hot under Ellie’s touch, and she wanted to be touched all over, so that her body would forget the winter’s coldness. 

They did not talk, having done too much of talking before that moment.

Dina wanted her.

Ellie was on top of her, holding herself by elbows. 

They were really close.

So close that every small movement of Ellie’s echoed on Dina’s skin underneath her clothes. 

She wanted to tug all her clothes off her.

She wanted to tug all Ellie’s clothes off her.

Her hand went underneath Ellie’s shirt, making the girl sigh loudly into her mouth.

“Can I?” 

“Please.”

Dina’s hands were shaking as her hand went higher, to Ellie’s breast, cupping it as gently as possible.

“Ah, shit,” Ellie cursed into Dina’s mouth.

Under her hand, she could feel just how loudly Ellie’s heart was beating.

She could feel every breath, every heartbeat, every sigh.

It felt even more intoxicating than drinking whiskey.

Soon, they both grew tired of so many layers of clothes between them. 

Ellie was the first to notice that they were overdressed, as she got up from the bed to pull her shirt over her head.

Dina quickly followed her example, left in only her bra and shorts.

She wanted to look at Ellie.

She wanted to see all of her.

Ellie did not give her a chance, almost jumping on the bed and kissing her.

Dina could feel Ellie’s thigh slipping between her legs, touching her in the most agonizing way possible.

It felt like a torture, being so close to the girl.

It was a beautiful torture, though.

When Ellie’s hand fell on Dina’s bra, a sensation ran through her body down to her lower stomach.

She moaned, and she knew Ellie noticed that she did, judging by how corners of her lips curled just a little bit.

It felt unfair, how much power Ellie had over her.

The hand on her bra quickly slipped underneath the cloth, and Dina could swear she heard Ellie moan, too.

Her own hands were on Ellie’s waist, pulling the girl closer to Dina’s body.

When Ellie started kissing her neck, she could no longer bear this sensation, rolling them over with a quick motion, so that Dina was finally on top of her.

“My turn,” she whispered, alcohol making her confidence kick in with twice its force.

Ellie barely complained, though.

Dina took a glance at Ellie’s body, her sports bra and male underwear.

She lowered her face, so that she could kiss the girl, while her hands went on their own journey, exploring parts of her that were usually hidden by clothes.

Ellie’s hands did not rest on the bed, either, as the girl grabbed her spine and pulled her so close that their chests collided.

Dina did not know how long they had been kissing each other for. It felt like the time passed so fast, but also it felt like there has not been a time when they were not tangled together like that on Dina’s bed.

They woke up to a loud thud on the door.

It was so agonistically loud, that Dina’s head was ready to burst. 

Ellie’s hand was wrapped tightly around her torso, and it was hard to get up from such a tight embrace. “El…”

Ellie just sighed, tightening her hold on her.

“GUYS, I KNOW YOU ARE THERE,” Jesse yelled from behind the door, knocking once again. 

“Argh… I have completely forgotten I’m assigned to patrol today.”

Dina looked at her sleepy face, heavy eyelids falling down as soon as Ellie tried to open her eyes.

Jesse knocked again.

“I’m coming! I’m coming,” Ellie muttered, as she got up from the bed, trying to find her jeans and stumbling as she pulled them on. 

Dina just watched her from her sitting position on the bed, smiling adoringly at this mess of a person.

“I think I have to go now,” Ellie murmured, turning her head away from Dina, shy of her morning breath.

Dina did not care.

She got up from her bed, and neared Ellie when the girl was already near the front door.

“Hey, Ellie.”

“Yeah?”

“I wanted for you to have this,” Dina said, tugging her bracelet from where it rested on her hand, as Ellie decided if she could accept it. In the end, she smiled, softly, and gave Dina her arm. “Be safe out there, will you?”

She tied it around Ellie’s wrist, where her tattoo was.

“I will,” Ellie smiled brightly, as she quickly pecked Dina’s cheek, her cheeks flushing red. She stumbled as she unlocked the door, and when the door was finally opened, took a quick step out of Dina’s house, so that the cold winter’s air would not invade the girl’s chambers.

It was cute in a post-apocalyptic way.

Dina fell asleep almost instantly, with Ellie’s smell still in the room. 

For the first time in ages, she felt good.

Dina was truly, impossibly happy, and the fact that the ugly Cat’s tattoo was finally covered by Dina’s bracelet did not contribute to this happiness at all…

Or maybe, even if it did, its impact was barely felt.

Barely.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully, this fic cheered you up a little bit! I did not proof read it, so I'm sorry about all the typos/grammar mistakes and etc, but I needed some serotonin after finishing this game, and it was really fun to write it. 
> 
> Feel free to follow me on twitter to chat about TLOU, my username is ... exactly the same as here.
> 
> Now I'm going to go learn how to play "Longing" by Gustavo on guitar, this soundtrack lives in my head rentfree, thanks for reading!


End file.
